I’m more of a demolition derby kind of guy when it comes to racing games. Running a track backwards, causing pile-ups and watching chaos ensue are a lot more fun to me than the constant striving towards perfection, as you race a tighter line and attempt to shave fractions of a second off your record. Thankfully, there’s none of that in Reckless Getaway. It’s all about over-the-top stunts and crash-’em-up action.

There are two different ways to play this game. The first is Getaway mode, where you’re the wheelman in a bank heist, attempting to outrun the cops at any cost. But the focus isn’t on how fast you can go, it’s squarely on collecting loot, using power-ups and performing stunts as you attempt to break through the road block at the end of each level. There’s also plenty of crashing and smashing going on, but you run a high risk of turning your car into a twisted, burning wreck. Times aren’t important; the only thing that matters is getting to the end while causing as much damage and racking up as many points as possible.

The other way to play is Wreckless mode, where the emphasis is fully on destroying everything in your path from the cab of a semi-truck. It’s similar to Getaway except that the cops aren’t hounding your every move. Your truck isn’t indestructible, but it can certainly take more of a pounding while dishing out plenty of hurt to everyone else on the road. It’s a great mode to play, if you’re tired of being blown to smithereens and want to exact some heavy metal revenge.

Where Reckless Getaway really shines is in the graphics and sound department. The game just looks phenomenal. The top-down, 3D perspective is set back just far enough that you can see all of the action without the cars appearing small enough to get lost in the details. The most impressive aspect, however, is the sound of the game. Every bump, scrape and crash comes right through, lending some credibility to the environment and making for a much more immersive experience. I was particularly impressed by the deep growl of the car’s engine and exhaust note, as well as the sound of the truck revving up to speed in Wreckless mode.

One flaw in the game comes at the very beginning, when you first start it up. Reckless Getaway has to download content before you can play it. I won’t fault the game for this unfortunate approach to content updating, but it was an annoying, unexpected delay that lasted a few minutes, at least. The game assures you that this is a “one time only” process, and while some users have reported crashes during this process, I experienced no such thing. It was a minor annoyance, at worst.

Reckless Getaway is a great looking game that offers a sincere level of fun with plenty of challenge and high-speed thrills.